Is Mini about to get lost in space? As it confirms something inspired by the Urbanaut will make production, we live with the futuristic concept car for 24 hours...
, and an impossibly cool reinterpretation of the proclaimed-dead MPV – only became more relevant as traditional workplaces, working practices and office hours were abandoned, literally overnight, in favour of something more flexible, more enjoyable, more human. And if we’re now free to work from anywhere, a versatile and spacious Mini with the potential for a different view every day is not without appeal.
I can hear my email inbox growing exponentially, so I grab my laptop and head back to the Mini. The Urbanaut’s refreshingly non-automotive interior, which eschews black plastic, touchscreens and a conventional dash, relies heavily on a couple of key pieces of technology: a compact electric powertrain powered by an underfloor battery, for an epic amount of interior space in a vehicle less than 4.
With perfect timing Mini’s design boss Oliver Heilmer drops by. He’s all smiles as he sees his baby outside of a motor-show stand or a photographic studio for the first time. In anticipation I’ve had a little tidy-up and watered my plants. Conceived back in 2019 as a vessel into which Mini’s team could pour its next-generation design ideas, the project quickly acquired a second, unforeseen importance. It became a test bed for the notion that, so long as Mini stayed true to a few core attributes , perhaps the brand could roam far beyond hatches and the awkward but successful Countryman.
Talking of MPVs, might we go full circle? Could crossovers and SUVs, which killed off cars like the Picasso, Espace and Galaxy, in turn be rendered obsolete by a new generation of more socially-acceptable MPVs? ‘There are two trends,’ explains Heilmer. ‘Right now, crossovers and SUVs are selling more and more. But there’s another trend, too. Our target group is questioning whether having an SUV in the city is the right thing. Maybe by 2030, 2035, the SUV won’t count any more.
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